Blazers rout woeful Jazz

Trail Blazers 130
Jazz 98

PORTLAND, OREGON – The Trail Blazers had the perfect recipe for a record shooting night — nice ball movement, open shooters, a good rhythm, and one of the NBA’s worst teams as an opponent.

“We were feeling it,” Wesley Matthews said after Portland set franchise and league 3-point records in a 130-98 win over the struggling Utah Jazz on Friday.

Matthews scored 24 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 20 points and 15 rebounds for the surging Blazers, who have won four straight and 15 of 16. Portland made 17 of 23 shots from 3-point range for 73.9 percent, an NBA record for a team with at least 20 attempts, according to basketball-reference.com. Portland also surpassed its previous franchise mark of 16 3-pointers.

Damian Lillard added 21 points and Nicolas Batum had 13 for the Blazers.

Alec Burks had 16 points to lead the Jazz, who trailed by as many as 42. They have lost 10 of 11 games on the road this season.

“It wasn’t a lack of effort,” Utah’s Gordon Hayward said. “It just started to snowball on us.”

Portland’s sharp jump shooting has required opponents to respect the outside shooters and not spend so much time containing Aldridge inside, which has led to his increasing dominance.

While the Blazers are leading the West, Utah (4-17) is in the basement. The Jazz entered with the least potent offense in the conference at 91.2 points per game. Utah shot just 41 percent Friday but it was defense that left coach Tyrone Corbin shaking his head. The Jazz were outscored 39-22 in the first quarter and 40-13 in the third.

“If you give up 40 points in a quarter and 30 points in a quarter, it’s like you’re not even on the floor,” Corbin said.

Hawks 108, Cavaliers 89

In Atlanta, Kyle Korver set the NBA record for consecutive games with a 3-pointer, Al Horford scored 22 points and the Hawks beat Cleveland.

Korver’s 3 with 5:29 remaining in the first quarter gave him at least one in a record-90th straight game, breaking a tie with Dana Barros (1994-96). Korver was 2-for- 3 from beyond the arc and finished with 10 points.

Bobcats 105, 76ers 88

In Charlotte, Jeffery Taylor matched a career high with 20 points, leading six Bobcats in double figures.

Knicks 121, Magic 83

In New York, Carmelo Anthony had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and the Knicks snapped a seven-game home losing streak.

Celtics 106, Nuggets 98

In Boston, Kris Humphries came off the bench and had a season-high 18 points and seven boards for the Celtics.

Bucks 109, Wizards 105 (OT)

In Washington, Khris Middleton scored a career-high 29 points and Brandon Knight added 20 as Milwaukee won in OT.

Thunder 109, Pelicans 95

In New Orleans, Kevin Durant scored 29 points and Russell Westbrook had 25 for Oklahoma City.

Rockets 105, Warriors 83

In Houston, James Harden scored 34 points and Dwight Howard had 22 points and 18 rebounds for the Rockets.

Suns 106, Raptors 97

In Phoenix, Markieff Morris made his first 11 shots en route to a 25-point performance.

Lakers 106, Kings 100

In Sacramento, Jodie Meeks made two huge 3s in the final minutes to finish with 19 points, lifting Los Angeles past the Kings in what was expected to be its last game before Kobe Bryant returns.